After executor Eric Lemaster propounded the will of Lillie Payne, George Glaze filed a caveat contending, inter alia, that the will was invalid because it was not properly executed, that Payne lacked the requisite testamentary capacity and that the will was not freely and voluntarily executed. After a bench trial the probate court rejected the caveat and found the will to be valid. Because the evidence adduced supports the probate court’s judgment, we affirm. 1. Appellant contends that the will was not properly executed because Payne did not follow the procedure set forth in the attestation clause. Although that clause recited that Payne signed the will in the presence of both witnesses and that both witnesses signed in the presence of each other, the uncontroverted evidence established that only one witness, Cavenaugh, was present when Payne signed the will1 and that Clark later signed as a witness after Payne sought him out, presented him with the signed will and informed him it was her will.2 ” ‘It is not the writing that makes the will legal and binding, but the testamentary intent crystallized and expressed in the writing.’ Cit.” Hickox v. Wilson , 269 Ga. 180, 181 496 SE2d 711 1998. We agree with the probate court that Payne’s testamentary intent here was clear and that her deviation from the procedure set forth in the attestation clause does not serve in itself to invalidate the execution of the will. Id.
2. In support of his argument that Payne lacked the requisite testamentary capacity, appellant points to evidence that within weeks of signing the will, Payne was hospitalized in a confused mental state, which subsequently required the appointment of a guardian. However, the probate court was authorized to credit the testimony of the signing witnesses that Payne possessed the requisite capacity at the time she and they signed the will, as well as appellee’s testimony that while Payne’s mental condition was normal when she executed the will, it underwent a dramatic and permanent change for the worse some weeks later when Payne fell in her home and hit her head, requiring her hospitalization. “A trial court’s factual findings in a non-jury trial may not be set aside unless clearly erroneous. Cits. Where, as here, the findings of the probate court are supported by any evidence, they will not be disturbed on appeal. Cit.” Fletcher v. Ellenburg , 279 Ga. 52, 56 1 609 SE2d 337 2005.
